The Winkler Royals, Morden Bombers and Red River Wild each closed out the SEMHL regular season with contrasting results last weekend as the league prepares to transition into playoff hockey.
Morden’s Cade Kowalski (left) receives the 2025-26 SEMHL Rookie Of The Year Award from presenter and teammate Collin Shirley
League-leading Winkler continued its strong finish with a pair of convincing wins, defeating the Carman Beavers 11–8 on Friday before routing the Warren Mercs 10–1 on Saturday.
Friday’s matchup with Carman was a wide-open affair that saw the teams trade goals throughout the first two periods. Winkler struck twice in the opening 90 seconds and never trailed, getting multi-point performances from Justin Augert, Adam Henry and Aaron Lewadniuk. James Penner scored the game-winning goal early in the third, while Matthew Thiessen stopped 37 shots to earn the win.
The Royals followed up with a dominant showing Saturday in Altona, holding Warren to a single power-play goal while pouring in 10 of their own. Augert scored twice, Henry added a goal and an assist, and Thiessen turned aside 47 shots as Winkler closed the regular season first overall with a 14-3-1 record and 29 points.
Morden capped off its regular season Saturday with a 9–4 victory over the Notre Dame Hawks, powered by a three-goal special teams effort and balanced scoring throughout the lineup.
After trailing briefly early, the Bombers took control with five unanswered goals spanning the first and second periods. Collin Shirley, Mike Rey and Jay Fehr each finished with multi-point nights, while Reed Peters made 40 saves in goal.
The win secured Morden fifth place in the standings with an 8-9-1 record, positioning the Bombers as a potential first-round spoiler heading into the postseason.
Red River struggled down the stretch, falling 5–2 to the Springfield Winterhawks on Friday before suffering an 11–1 loss to the Ile des Chênes Northstars on Saturday.
Against Springfield, Red River opened the scoring but was undone by special teams, allowing two power-play goals late in the second period. Jayden Catellier stopped 34 shots in the loss.
Saturday’s contest against Ile des Chênes quickly got away from the Wild, who were limited to a single second-period goal from Clint Lucier as the Northstars struck early and often. Red River used two goaltenders as Ile des Chênes extended its road dominance.
Despite the losses, Red River finished fourth in the SEMHL standings at 10-6-2 with 22 points.
Playoffs next
The SEMHL regular season concludes Feb. 10, with all nine teams advancing to the playoffs. The postseason opens with a Survivor Series between the eighth- and ninth-place teams, with the winner moving on to face the first-place club. The remainder of the playoffs will feature best-of-five series in the first two rounds, followed by a best-of-seven league final.
